30 Jan Dillon encourages Mayo sports clubs to apply for EV Charging Schem

Mayo TD Alan Dillon has encouraged sports clubs and communities throughout Mayo to apply for the Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging scheme which opened today (Monday).

The Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan T.D. along with Minister for Sport Catherine Martin T.D. launched the new €15 million scheme, resourced through the Government’s Shared Island Fund. It will support the roll-out of publicly accessible, fast-charging for sports clubs and communities across the island of Ireland, in line with the recently launched National EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy.

Launching the scheme, Minister Ryan noted the benefits of the sports club scheme in the wider switch to electrification of transport:

“So many of us are frequent visitors to our local sports clubs, whether that’s dropping off our children for training or games, helping out or playing sports ourselves. It makes perfect sense then that we are starting our destination EV charging plans by providing these grants for sports clubs.”

“Ireland is in a strong position to move to transport electrification. Most of our journeys are short and most of our charging is done at home, but it is important to make sure that we also have a strong public charging network in place for those without access to home charging, or for anyone who needs to top-up their charge when out and about.”

Fine Gael Spokesperson for Sport, Deputy Dillon said the new scheme will provide fast-charging for sports clubs and communities across Mayo and Ireland and make switching to and using an EV easier for everyone.

“This scheme will support clubs and communities in becoming more sustainable and reinforce the message that by working together we can move away from carbon intensive transport and energy.

‘Developed in partnership with Sports Ireland and Sports Governing Bodies across the island, and administered by Pobal, the scheme will allow sports clubs to apply to install a fast EV charge point at their grounds providing charging for club members as well as the local community.”

Applications will be gathered and assessed by Pobal, who will provide guidance on the scheme generally and who will offer direct support to applicants.

This is the first destination scheme launched as part of the Government’s EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy and will be followed by destination schemes for commercial and public sector locations, as well as by a neighbourhood charging scheme which will support local authorities to provide charging for areas where home charging is not possible.

For further information on how to apply, visit pobal.ie/programmes/ZEVISchemes.

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